Marvel Won’t Announce Their Next Movies Just Yet

Marvel has been quick to pick up release dates, as they currently have three films set for release on May 6, 2016, July 8, 2016, and May 5, 2017 and have yet to reveal what those films are (if they know, which they may not). At Comic-Con 2012, they unveiled their release slate into 2015, with 'Ant-Man' and 'Avengers 2' on the docket, while this year they didn't mention anything new as their big announcement was the title of the 'Avengers' sequel. It turns we won't know what those untitled films are until next year at the earliest.

Marvel's studio head Kevin Feige talked to the fine folks over at Collider and told them about those projects that “it’s only 2013 now. But I think it would probably be, at the earliest, a year from now” that they'll announce their next couple of titles. Feige also downplayed the possibility of an 'Iron Man 4' any time soon saying:

So, there will absolutely be future Tony Starks and future Iron Mans. Who makes those movies, and when those movies are made, who knows? I don’t know. But, the notion with Robert’s contract in The Avengers 2 & 3, is to allow new characters. Part of what we love about The Avengers is the shifting roster.

To date, Marvel has been very sequel-friendly. Their next two films are 'Thor: The Dark World' and 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier,' and since so much of their groundwork since 2008 was about getting to 'The Avengers,' you could consider their films part of a single franchise. But with this news it makes it sound like they're more interested in building the brand over characters.

As Marvel may be the Pixar of the live-action realm, it makes sense to not beat franchises into the ground when they know they have a loyal following. And as their experience with Robert Downey Jr. proves, it's nice to have more characters to play with so if an actor has become too expensive (or whatever), they don't have to be in the next 'Avengers' movie for audiences to be satisfied.